Some Bend, Others Break
by NetherVoidWanderer
Summary: It had been awhile, time had not healed this wound. Time had not made them forget. Time had changed a lot and time hadn't changed much. They may not fight to kill. But in the end it's either kill or bend and neither of them are willing to do either.


Authors note- I do not own nor have any affiliation beyond being addicted to Naruto and all Naruto related things. (Especially Haku. :D)

Further notes- I don't know if this is a 'crack' fic or not because I really honestly don't know what a 'crack' fic is. It might be more of a heroin fic or possibly a weed fic I don't know. On further note I really am not a very big fan of Sasuke. At. All. But… I have a strong liking for odd pairings. And Yaoi. :D Perverts of the world unite!

But there's no love in this, no love, no yaoi, though I'm sure you can imply it somewhere in here… no smutty goodness (though I'm sure some people could see it in that light), no fluff even. Sorry for the false alarm, if there was any. Ne… I think the ending kind of left it all open and hanging you know? But that's what's great about one-shots. It let's you sort of build from there you know? I dunno… I might continue it depends on… a lot of things… but mostly this is for my own amusement. Heh heh… hope you like it… and if not… well… you can eat my ass with a spoon for all I care. :D

_

* * *

__Falling through the darkness we reach out for hands,  
__And when we find one,  
__We hold on.  
__Even if they're pulling us down.  
__-Unknown_

Naruto had been easy, a few bottles of liquor, a couple bowls of ramen, a lot of conversation that involved a sentence that was answered by a freakin novel worth of words and one emotional outburst later and it was pretty much 'boom' they bonded.

Naruto had sought him out after all… Naruto had _bended_.

Sasuke was another matter entirely… Sasuke would, undoubtedly, _not bend_.

Why should he? He never had to before. All he did was stay constant. Everyone else bended around him. Why would he change when everyone else was more then willing to?

The same could be said about Gaara.

Why _would_ he… why _should_ he bend when others would?

Gaara would not bend.

Sasuke would not bend.

There in lay the problem.

_Someone_ would _have_ to bend.

Otherwise it simply wouldn't work.

All he'd gotten from Konoha was that Uchiha had up and left.

Gone.

He still had a score to settle with Uchiha.

Sasuke had been the first and only person… who had left a scar on his body.

The flesh in that area was a softer, peach-pink pastel color as opposed to his ashy skin.

It wasn't only softer in the sense of color but also texture… not soft like a puppies fur but soft like fresh blankets… and not only in the sense of touch to an outside person but that area was much more tender to outside stimulus.

The more primal part of him… the part where Shukaku resided, insisted that they destroy Uchiha… for hurting him… for hurting them.

But he couldn't just walk up and kill him.

No no. He needed a lot more tact then that.

Shukaku urged this on until Gaara pointed out that there would be no satisfaction in doing that… not anymore at least.

No no.

Besides where was the fun if Uchiha didn't fight back?

A thin, feral smile that was half Gaara and half Shukaku appeared on his face.

Silently they moved across the rooftops under the full moon sky.

Sasuke had gone to Orochimaru some years back.

He moved towards Sound following a basic and primal feeling… a knowing… of _this _is where it is and _this _is what we should do, courtesy of the Tanuki.

The feral smile curled upwards slightly, crinkling the corners of his mouth as he followed the pulling sensation.

It was possibly an hour or so after he'd exited Konoha that he realized he was still smiling.

It was five seconds after this that he knew why.

He skid to a halt staring up half unbelievingly, and half with the same feral intensity he'd felt when first deciding to hunt Uchiha.

There on the rise of the hill out lined solely by the moon was Uchiha Sasuke.

It was like some surreal daze…

Aside from two brilliant red eyes his entire face and body was covered in shadow.

Gaara's breath was momentarily halted in his throat and his eyes narrowed.

"What do you want?" His voice was low and detached.

The feral grin seemed to grow wider and thin out.

Simultaneously they moved.

* * *

Gaara had found that moving while he fought was a lot more entertaining then staying in one spot and letting the sand do all the work.

Hitting was fun.

So he'd spent time improving his Taijutsu and was in better control over the sand.

He was able to suppress its movement enough so that he'd gotten hit a few times.

Nothing serious, no bruises and minimal pain.

Definitely no scars.

Nobody had scarred him… except Sasuke.

Sasuke _was_ surprised that it was Gaara's fist he was dodging and not a sand wad.

As they fought Gaara realized _why_ his grin was turning darker, thinner and much more rabid.

It was an accumulation of the full moon, finding Sasuke, and the thick heady scent of blood coming from the sack attached to Sasuke. The sand became very excited by the combination of these things and soon Uchiha had to dodge sand and fists. Then Gaara landed a blow that was the combined force of his fist and a tentacle of sand. Uchiha was sent flying and the sack tied around his waist some how came undone.

As Sasuke hit the tree the sack hit the ground and from it rolled a severed head. Gaara tilted his head inquisitively and nudged the severed head with the toe of his sandal.

At first he thought it was a woman because of the delicate porcelain skin and the _very_ long tresses of hair. But as it rolled over his eyes met with a very surprised snake like visage.

Orochimaru.

It wasn't easy to mistake that face, ever, even if it was blood smeared and contorted in an expression of outrage and surprise.

He looked up at Sasuke who stood not very far away. Gaara's grin died out slowly and he shook his head.

Without a word Uchiha shoved the severed head unceremoniously into the bag and the two of them made their way back to Konoha.

* * *

"Who're you waiting for?"

Gaara lazily lifted his eyelids to look at the speaker who stood uncomfortably close.

The again Lee had been taught many things… respecting a person 'personal bubble' was apparently not one of them however.

So his response was, unsurprisingly, a rather annoyed and pointed glare.

Lee's skull was about as thick as his eyebrows… naturally he didn't pick up on the 'I-kill-you-now' vibe that emanated from the perturbed red head. Then again this emanation had faded off with age.

As Lee opened his mouth to speak again the door to Gaara's left creaked open and so exited the Godaime and Sasuke. Gaara looked blankly at the Hokage but he could just feel Lee's surprise, shock, anger, and confusion that it was Sasuke standing not even seven feet away from him.

Sasuke brushed past Lee as if he did not exist followed after a few moments by Gaara.

"Lee I trust you haven't seen anything odd today?" Tsunade said patiently. He knew what she meant. There would be widespread pandemonium and rage if people were to know Sasuke was apparently back fromhis missing nin stint which was apparently amission. Naruto would kill him, Sakura would probably have a heart attack, along with half the female population, and nobody would be calm and or trusting. "I'll address the people about it very very soon," She placed a hand on his shoulder and gave Lee a shallow smile. He nodded slowly, as if he feared that any sudden movement would break this dream (this nightmare) he'd suddenly been plunged into. This was something that would have to be handled very delicately. Very. Delicately.

* * *

"What do you want?" Sasuke said just a hint of irritability touching his voice.

When the answer did not come he rounded on the demon vessel and looked at him sharply. His question was answered by silence and a rather annoyed look that had a distinct 'If-you-don't-know-don't-bother-asking' vibe to it.

Sasuke's memory was quick and it pulled up a lovelyimage of him using the Chidori on Gaara and making him bleed.

A small, involuntary, and rather arrogant smirk slipped onto his face.

"You're still tied up about when we were kids?"

Gaara blinked slowly out of annoyance, and he smiled even slower as he felt the slow rise of an impending battle.

"You're the only one who left a scar."

Sasuke eyed him warily; he very much doubted that he could get away fromthis situationtactfully. Hell he probably wouldn't be able to get away fromit _at all_. He didn't have anywhere to be, no one was expecting him back, and the Hokage had made it painfully clear that he was to stay out of sight for… well she hadn't said how long.

"You want a fight? Follow me." He placed the bear Anbu mask over his face without though or care and moved off swiftly, silently in the darkness.

Gaara was not far behind.

* * *

It was not a fight for the sake of fighting or bloodshed or whatever the hell else people fight for.

It was for closure.

More so on Gaara's part really.

To make sure. To _be_ sure.

The last thing he wanted, the last thing he needed was somebody who could _actually_ kill him.

The idiots who _thought_ they could were big enough pain in the ass.

It was somewhat like a dance, except they were leaping seemingly without direction, seemingly without cause, from tree to tree trying to… not kill… but something close to it...to each other.

Injure severely?

Do permanent damage?

Make comatose?

Rip out appendages?

Something like that, something brutal and painful and inhumane and not very nice.

But most certainly not _kill_ each other.

* * *

Moments passed and it couldn't be described as dancing. It was more like watching two young predators play. Sure they were playing but they were fighting. They were honing their skill; they were setting up an early pecking order.

Yes it could definitely be described as playing.

And they were playing _hard_.

No weapons, no jutsu's, no _sand_. Just fists and legs slamming into each other as if the other were nothing but slabs of meat.

The only other person that had made him work this hard, had made him sweat and bleed and actually feel alive had been Naruto. And Naruto was a demon.

They stood on thick tree branches, or at least the thickest ones that hadn't been destroyed in their fight. Black, endless, pupiless, seemingly soulless eyes stared at green, hazy, feral, animalistic, rabid eyes and both of them knew that they were done.

For now.

A winner would not

_Could not_

Be determined short of the opponent dieing.

For now it was a draw, a stalemate.

Both acknowledged this silently.

It would either be through death or one of them saying 'I surrender' that a winner could be acknowledged. Neither felt the urge to kill the other and neither felt the urge to bend.

Their 'playtime' was over now, they had both reached the same conclusion so neither one really had surrendered, neither one had really bent.

It was over for now… but it would most certainly continue.

After all… both of their fights (however brief) had been interrupted. But nobody knew that Sasuke was back, nobody knew that they fought each other several miles out of Konoha, nobody knew that either of them still held the grudge of that tie in their childhood.

And while nobody knew these things they didn't know which would it be.

Would it be bend or death?

Would it be Gaara or Sasuke?

Nobody knew, not even them.


End file.
